Project Engineer - Mechanical
Kepler Communications
Sterling, VA, USA · Toronto, ON, Canada
Posted on May 29, 2025
Kepler is on an audacious mission to deliver Internet connectivity to space, creating the infrastructure to support the rapidly increasing data needs of the space economy. With 23 satellites launched to date and our optical constellation on the horizon, our ambition is to improve access to space-generated data, whether in LEO, MEO, GEO, or beyond! Kepler is hard at work innovating and continuing to grow and expand our most important asset – the Team!
Kepler is seeking a Project Engineer with a strong foundation in Mechanical systems to lead the delivery of complex engineering efforts for spacecraft systems. This role is central to Kepler’s mission of building a scalable platform in space, where mechanical systems are critical to the fundamental operation of the system. You will own cost, schedule, and technical integration, working across disciplines to ensure we deliver reliable, high-performance systems that meet mission needs.
Expected Time Breakdown:
30% – Scope, schedule, and cost management
30% – Cross-functional coordination and integration
20% – Risk management, stakeholder communication, and process adherence
20% – Mechanical design support
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead an integrated product team owning the development of related subsystem units.
- Assign and prioritize execution of deliverables across assigned work packages.
- Manage cost, schedule, and scope from concept through delivery, own the execution baseline.
- Coordinate across disciplines (systems, software, hardware, QA, integration) to ensure consistent progress and clear technical direction.
- Support interface development and integration.
- Run technical milestone planning and readiness reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, PRR).
- Drive issue resolution, risk mitigation, and schedule recovery where needed.
- Maintain alignment between program-level objectives and day-to-day engineering work.
- Ensure adherence to engineering processes, quality standards, and system-level requirements.
- Support mechanical design work as both contributor and design reviewer.
Required Skills & Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or similar.
- 5+ years in technical leadership or project engineering roles, preferably in space, aerospace, automotive, or similar regulated environments.
- Experience delivering cross functional systems, covering mechanical, electrical, software, from initial design to production.
- Strong understanding of hardware architecture and the development lifecycle.
- Solid grasp of development, verification, and validation practices, including test planning and quality gates.
- Proficient in schedule management, cost estimation and completion tracking, and earned value methodologies.
- Ability to lead cross-functional teams in fast-paced, resource-constrained environments.
- Comfortable working in mixed hardware and software environments and resolving interface-level gaps.
- Effective communicator and decision-maker across engineering, PMO, and leadership teams.
- Strong background in mechanical design including thermal, structural, CAD, and manufacturing aspects.
Bonus Points:
- Experience with design for space, including space industry program development phases and qualification requirements.
- Knowledge of agile project management principles, especially as they apply to hardware development.
Kepler Communications is committed to fostering an inclusive, accessible environment, where all employees and customers feel valued, respected and supported. We welcome applications from: Women, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, visible minorities, people who identify as LGBTQ+ and others who may contribute to diversification in our workplace.
As part of our commitment to accessibility for all persons with disabilities, Kepler will, upon the request of the applicant, provide accommodation during the recruitment process to ensure equal access to applicants with disabilities. Please contact our People & Culture team, through our Career Page to make your accommodation needs known and we will consult with you to ensure suitable accommodation is provided.
